Back To You
by writingtiger
Summary: Elizabeth is working at the LA Times when an unexpected assignment throws her for a loop
1. Chapter 1

Elizabeth Wakefield walked into her office at the L.A. Times, carefully hanging up her coat, and placing her purse in the bottom left drawer of her desk. She sat at her computer, scanning her emails first.

There was a knock at the door. "Hello?" she said, not looking up from her screen.

"Hey Liz, got a big favor to ask. Are you busy tonight?" Jerry Porter, a writer for the sports department asked, plopping into a chair directly in front of her desk.

"Not terribly. Why?" she asked, turning away from the monitor.

"I need you to take over an assignment for me. I have an interview set up tonight with Todd – uh, Wilson, I think his name is. He's the newest player for the L.A Lakers. Anyway Mia called. '

"How is she doing?" Elizabeth asked casually. She had met Mia when Jerry had brought her around the office. She was a swimsuit model based in Miami, and often flew out to California to be with Jerry.

"She was able to catch a flight out tonight, but I have an interview with this guy lined up. Right now he's so hot, it would take God to reschedule it. Can you take over for me?"

"Sure. What time?'

"Seven o' clock. He'll meet you at Vibe. Just tell' em you're from the Times. They've got a special room set up and everything."

"Sounds good. I'll be there. Any special angle you want me to get?" she asked

"Just something to introduce him to the Lakers fans," his cell phone went off, "Thanks Liz, I owe ya big time," Jerry told her, leaving her office to take the call.

Elizabeth immediately pulled up her Internet to research the Lakers. "Let's see what this hotshot is all about," she muttered as she waited for her screen to pop up. Her eyes widened in alarm. It wasn't possible.

She frantically rummaged through her purse and grabbed her cell phone.

"Hello?"

"Jessica, help me," Liz begged shutting the door to her office.

"Liz, what's wrong?" Jessica asked, mildly alarmed. She knew if it were anything major she would have felt it.

"I have an interview tonight."

"And – ," Jessica prompted.

"It's with the new Lakers player, Todd Wilkins."

"Oh yea, I heard from Lila he had moved back to California."

And you didn't tell me. Jessica, what is the matter with you?" Elizabeth demanded.

"Elizabeth, for someone who hasn't cared about the guy since high school, don't you think you're being a bit dramatic?" Jessica asked.

"Jessica, we're talking about my ex boyfriend here!"

"Elizabeth, relax. Oh, shoot. I'll be right there. Liz, I got to go. They're calling me on set. Do you need me to come over for wardrobe advice or anything?"

"I'll be okay, I think."

"Okay, let me know how it goes. All right?"

"Talk to you later Jess," Elizabeth said, hanging up her phone. She placed it on the desk, and thought for a moment. She could do it. After all she was a professional, wasn't she? Professional writers didn't let anything like past histories get in the way.

She didn't want to get back with him, she was sure, but she had always wondered just what had happened to him? Was he married? No, the internet said he was still single. Suddenly she was struck with a pounding migraine, wishing she had told Jerry no.

She ended up slipping out two hours early. "Not to get ready," she told herself sternly as she charged a brand new outfit to her credit card. The outfit was meant to impress. It wouldn't do for her to wear any old thing when she saw him again. If there was one thing she had learned in L.A, it was that image is everything.

She got home, and took out a box she kept under her bed. Full of clippings from the Oracle, and old SVH yearbooks. Carefully she took out the book from her junior year, and turned to the last page. It was simply signed "4Ever Yours, Todd". She flipped through the rest of the book and the other yearbooks reliving her high school years through the momentos that were laid out in front of her now.

She glanced over at her alarm clock. 4:04 the unforgiving digits read. She figured with L.A traffic it would take her about an hour to get to the restaurant which meant she had to leave at six, a quarter to six was even better which meant she only had an hour and forty five minutes to get ready.

She arrived at the restaurant at six thirty. However instead of pulling into the parking lot, she drove a mile down taking the exit that lead to the beach.

Her stomach was filled with anticipation. How much had he changed? How much had she changed? How would he react when he found out who would be interviewing him? Would he be angry? Surprised for sure. And part of her hoped he'd recognize how gorgeous she looked. She wore a black sleeveless top with black pants. Her sandals that she held in her hand as she walked along the beach were also black. She looked at her cell phone, and sighed. It was time to face the music.

Each step felt like lead as she tried not to let her feelings show. She was a professional, yes there would be personal talk, but that would only add to her article. The Laker fans would certainly get to know their new player and from an angle that Jerry would never have. But was it okay, or even ethical to bring up the fact that she and Todd had a past?

Personal points of view always did well, but how personal was too personal? "I'm with the L.A Times," she heard herself telling the matire'd.

"Ah, Miss Wakefield. Mr. Wilkins is waiting, if you'll come this way please."

'Oh no,' Elizabeth thought. She had hoped she'd beat him there. 'Well, here goes nothing,' she thought as she followed the waiter into a dining room that was exclusively reserved for VIP guests.


	2. Chapter 2

Elizabeth's stomach was a twisting turning bundle of knots. She wanted to turn back, and nearly did as they reached the enterance.For the first time in her life, she could say she was terrified of Todd Wilkins. She took a deep breath. "Just breathe," she whispered to herself. 

The matire'd turned back. "Are you okay, miss?" he asked. Elizabeth was suddenly very pale. Her hand clutching her bag like a lifeline was trembling. She took another deep breath and nodded.

"I'm fine," Elizabeth assured him, flashing him a reporter's smile."Just nerves. He's a really hot player right now, and I don't want to screw this up," she rambled, lying through her teeth.

The matire'd led the way to small table in the back of the room. The room was gorgeous, decorated with flowers and old Italian art, and very well lit. Beautiful, but hardly romantic. "I can be professional about this," she reminded herself.

"Miss Wakefield, sir," the matire'd presented her, pulling out a chair. Todd looked up from the menu he had been studying. There were no words as he leapt out of his chair, embracing her in a tight hug.

"Liz, how are you?" he said, still holding on.

"I'm your reporter," she explained. "Jerry got sidetracked, you might say."

"I knew you worked for the Times, I can take care of this one," Todd assured the matire'd as he held out the chair for Elizabeth.

""Wait," Elizabeth said as she sat, and Todd returned to his side of the table, "you knew I worked for the Times. How?"

"Jessica mentioned it when I saw her at a party," Todd explained, looking a little stunned.

"Would you like anything to drink?" the matire'd asked.

"Just a beer please," Todd asked.

"Lemonade please," Elizabeth ordered. She was dying for a drink that would relax her and get her sailing through this night, but she had to keep her head about her to keep her job.

"I have to admit you know much more about my life now then I ever would have guessed.," Elizabeth said. "Jessica never told me about that."

"I asked her about you. I only saw her for a few minutes at a studio party," he said casually.

"Well, enough about me, we need to talk about you," Elizabeth stated firmly, stashing aside a mental note to kill her twin. "So what would you say is your biggest challenge playing professional basketball?"

Elizabeth learned Tood hadn't even graduated college when he had entered the NBA draft. He had bounced around between a few teams on the East Coast before finding what he hoped to be a home on the Lakers. No girlfriend, Elizabeth noted in bold letters and underlined. That would make a good reading point for females, she determined. He still liked watching sports in his spare time, along with travel. Underneath,Todd was still the same down to earth guy that had won Elizabeth over so long ago.

"So Liz..." Todd hedged once they had finished with the interview.

"Yes...?" she asked.

"What would you say to spending some time together... off the record?"

"I'd love to," she smiled.

They paid for their drinks and left the restaurant. Now they were on their own, and Elizabeth had no idea what to do without her notebook to hide behind.

"So, what would you say we drive down the coast for a little bit in my Jag?"

"You drive a Jaguar?" she asked in amazement. Then kicked herself. 'He's a big star. Of course he's going to drive something nice you nit," she scolded herself.

"I would but my Jeep..."

"It'll be okay. Let's go," he said, handing his ticket to the valet.

"You look beautiful by the way," he said, as his hand squeezed hers.

"I bet you say that to all the journalists," she said.

"Liz, none of the ESPN guys could wear that outfit like you do," he teased.

They got in the car and drove away.

For awhile there was silence. The moonlight and streetlamps briefly illuminating the inside as they drove.

"So when did you run into Jessica?" Elizabeth finally asked.

"The producer of her soap, Mark Patrick, is a fan of the Lakers, so he had a party for the team and invited half of Hollywood."

"I still can't believe she never told me."

It was probably becuase of Robbie. How is he by the way?"

Elizabeth felt as though somebody had suddenly dumped a cold bucket of water on her head.

"Jessica told you about Robbie?" Liz gasped.

"Liz, are you okay?" Todd asked. In the dim light of the moving car, she looked very pale. He pulled over and parked on the beach, like they did when they were dating.

"Robbie is a long and complicated story," Liz said.

"Well, I gather you didn't marry him. They called you Miss Wakefield at the restaurant."

Liz tried to smile. "I'm sorry, I just haven't thought about him in a while. The end of the story was that I did marry him, only to walk in on him with one of the interns at the paper the day after we got back from our honeymoon. I had it annuled - four months ago."

"Ouch, that must hurt," he said rubbing her back.

"I had never thought of divorce as an option," she admitted, "then after I walked in on them, I found their used needles. That was enough."

"Oh Liz. I'm glad you left that jerk. You deserve so much better!" Tood exclaimed.

"It was for the best. Now I bury myself in my work."

"You know, this is the absolute worst time to mention it, but we've always been honest with each other right?"

"Sure."

"When I ran into Jessica at that party, my world stopped, becuase, for a moment, I thought she was you."


	3. Chapter 3

"Liz, I thought maybe someday, I would get over you. That never happened," Todd told her intently, as his eyes locked on to her.

"Todd… I don't know what to say," Elizabeth said as she met his gaze.

"You don't have to say anything," he said, brushing a lock of hair back from her face. "I am willing to go wherever you want, even away if you'd rather, but I can't do that without having the truth out there on the table."

She was tempted by the idea. It sounded nice to throw herself into Todd's arms, and never leave. Especially when he was looking at her like he could see straight into her heart. But she knew better.

"Todd, the truth is I have feelings for you. Too much to let you get involved with me right now. I can be your friend, but nothing more."

"Friends is good," he said. "So, are we friends that can take a walk down the beach?" he said, offering her his hand.

"Let's go," she said, kicking off her sandals, and placing her hand in his.

They lost track of the time as they wandered along the beach, talking, and getting to know each other again. Finally Elizabeth glanced down, her eyes falling to her wristwatch.

"Wow," she exclaimed as she double checked the hour,

"What?"

"It's eleven-thirty. My jeep, the restaurant is going to impound it. We have to go," she exclaimed tugging him back in the direction of his car.

They laughed as they raced back up the beach to his gleaming Jag.

"Finally, a good excuse to show you how this thing can run," he said as his car squealed out of the parking lot, kicking up a cloud of sand in his wake as he kicked his car up to 80.

The restaurant was just closing, as she and Todd pulled up,

"Just in time, miss," the valet assured her as he took her claim ticket.

"We have to do this again," Todd murmured in her ear, as he swept her into a hug.

"It was fun," she agreed.

"Hold it," he said before she could get into her car, grabbing her hand.

"What?" she asked.

"If you think I'm going to let you go without getting your phone number, you are out of your mind," he said, with a grin.

As she drove back, she was surprised to find that she felt a little lighter, and a little happier then she had in awhile.

She opened the door to the condo she bought, Jessica had bought the one next door, but seemed to spend much more time at Elizabeth's place then her own. As she expected her twin pounced. "Liz, sit and spill," she demanded, ushering her to the couch.

"Jessica, we're just friends, for heavens sake," she waved her twin off as she wandered into the kitchen for a pint of rocky road.

"Baloney," Jessica declared. "You haven't looked this happy in a long time. It's been at least a year since you had a date, and you were out this late.."

"Jessica, knock it off," Elizabeth smiled as they settled into chairs with bowls of ice cream. "Todd, and I are just friends," Elizabeth reiterated to her mirror image.

"Wow, you and Todd are just as boring as ever," Jessica complained.

Elizabeth smiled as she thought of exactly how not boring the evening had been.

When Jessica had gone home, Elizabeth wandered upstairs to her bedroom. Her cat ,Muffy, meowed from the bed where she had curled up for a cat nap, as Elizabeth switched on the light. "Mommy got to see Todd tonight baby," she confided in her cat as she flopped onto the bed next to the fluffly, white feline. "Don't worry, you'll love him."

The article about Todd was finished by mid morning the next day. She could say hands down, it was the easiest article she ever had to write in her entire journalism career.

And she had the perfect excuse to call him. 'But do I call him now, or wait until it's published?' she wondered. She got out her blackberry and scrolled to where she had programmed his number in last night.

'Text or call?' she wondered as she toyed with it.

'Maybe I should just wait until he calls me,' she thought, and put her phone back on her desk, and got to work on her other articles. 'Play hard to get,' she thought with a smirk.

At that moment, her phone beeped, making her jump a mile. She picked it up to read the text message on her screen.

"What r u up to?" it read.

"Writing your article," she texted back.

"Good or bad?"

"What do you think?"

"I don't know"

"Bad of course, since you're so rotten.."

"Can I bribe you?"

"With what"

"Lunch?"

She cringed. "I can't. Plans with Jessica." she texted back. "Rain check?"

"Tomorrow?"

"Of course," she texted back with a smile.

Elizabeth decided she loved text messaging. There was no horror of appearing overeager when you couldn't hear the voice inflections. "Friends," she reminded herself sternly.

At that moment, there was a knock on her office door.

"Come in," she called.

"Ready to go…?" Jessica bounded in, trailing off as she looked at Elizabeth in astonishment. "Friends my foot!" she exclaimed.

"What?"

"That goofy smile on your face. Don't lie to me! You talked to Todd today."

"I haven't talked to him today. Just texted him," she mumbled as she turned to an email regarding a city council meeting she reported on.

Jessica snatched the black box. "Ohh, lunch tomorrow?" she squealed.

"Jessica Wakefied, you can be so annoying at times," Elizabeth grumbled as she held out her hand for her blackberry.

"I can't help it. I've always loved a good drama, and you and Todd are an explosion waiting to happen."

"So are you ready to go?" Elizabeth asked exasperated.

"I'm always ready," Jessica grinned, as they left Elizabeth's office.


End file.
